Bulletin News
04/23/2019
SUNY Cortland head baseball coach Joe Brown has been selected as one of four managers for the inaugural season of the USA Baseball/Major League Baseball Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) League, which will take place June 13 through July 4 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Eighty of the top 2020 MLB Draft eligible high school prospects from around the United States have been invited to participate in the inaugural season of the PDP League. Former New York Yankees third baseman and Linfield College head coach Scott Brosius will serve as field coordinator for the league, and the prospects will be divided among four teams named after the league's four captains - former MLB All-Stars and USA Baseball alumni Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, Chipper Jones and Barry Larkin.
Brown will manage one of the teams. The other managers are Geoff Loomis (University of Portland head coach), Casey Powell (former Whitman College head coach and Seattle University and Linfield College assistant coach) and Willie Romay (Boston Red Sox amateur scout and former USA Baseball Coach). The league will also feature four former MLB players as pitching coaches – Andy Pettitte, Alan Embree, Scott Radinsky and Garvin Alston.
The PDP League serves as a primary identification opportunity for the USA Baseball 18U National Team, slated to compete in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup in Busan, South Korea in early September. Additionally, the league will serve as a feeder for a new MLB All-Star High School Prospect Game for the best high school baseball players, taking place in Cleveland as part of MLB's All-Star Week festivities in July.
The PDP League provides participating athletes with an unprecedented experience, including weekly practices and competitive gameplay, individualized instruction from MLB Club representatives serving as on-field coaches, evaluations using modern technologies tailoring individualized development curriculums for each player, as well as off-field leadership, skill-building, and educational seminars. Athletes will also have access to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, located on the campus of IMG Academy and one of only three such facilities in the world.
Brown entered the 2019 season with a combined record of 714-185-3 (.793) in his first 19 seasons as Cortland's head coach. He's led the Red Dragons to 19 NCAA Division III tournament appearances, including 10 World Series, and 15 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) titles. Cortland won the NCAA Division III title in 2015 and finished as national runner-up in 2005 and 2010. Brown's .793 winning percentage is the best of any active NCAA coach, at any level, with at least 10 years experience. In 2018, Brown became the second-fastest coach in Division III history to reach the 700-win mark.
Official Release from USA Baseball